Series 2, Ep. 11 - 1999
08/16/20 • 34 min
On 31st December 1998 I met a guy called Macey from the year above me at school. I go on to talk about Macey for 116 of the 365 days of 1999. If I heard he was going out, I would go out, I would sit at home imagining he would call my landline, despite him not having my phone number, I learnt his lesson plan and knew that when I walked along the school path between my Psychology and Art classes I would pass him. Every time I would prepare myself to look up, lock eye contact and smile, it’s a simple concept, it makes you look more attractive, but, every time I would fail.
Macey plays a big role in this story, but this is really all about a 17 year old who wants to be noticed, I wanted people to call me pretty, I wanted people to describe me as fun, I wanted people to recognise how hard I worked, I wanted to be rewarded with the role of house captain for my sporting achievements, I wanted to be patted on the back for organising a charity fashion show, and embarrassingly I wanted people to notice my family's wealth.
As I’m 17 I am lazy and use the word ‘cos’ instead of ‘because,’ my writing is quite chaotic and I am also very unaware of my white privilege. I was brought up in a white middle class area, a bubble of security. I’m ashamed to say I thought it was normal to live in a semi detached house, to have annual family holidays, to never have to think about where the next meal was coming from. When I went to university I began to understand that this was not the case, but it still took me a good 10 years to really start to unpick this. I’ve learnt from friends I’ve met along the way, I’ve learnt from reading, listening, following activists and I still have a lot to learn.
Follow Instagram for more extracts from my Diaries: https://www.instagram.com/diaryshewrote/
Key Characters:
Macey - My school crush
Beth - My best mate
Lily, Holly, Georgie, Ashley, Erica, Susie, Ben - Some of my oldest friends
Polly - A friend at school
Mum, Dad - Family
Annabelle - Macey’s school crush
Kev - Another school crush
Locations:
Wetherspoons Cheadle Hulme
https://www.greatukpubs.co.uk/kings-tap-cheadle-hulme?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local_seo_gmb&utm_content=website
Governors House
https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/cheshire/governors-house/
Zest, Wilmslow
Now closed down
Surrey Institute of Art & Design
https://www.uca.ac.uk/
Bar Med, Manchester
Now closed down
Pizza Express
https://www.pizzaexpress.com/
Renaissance
Now closed down
Cultural References:
Entertainment References:
Saving Private Ryan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_in_Love
There’s Something About Mary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_Something_About_Mary
Prince, 1999
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_(Prince_album)
S Club 7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Club_7
Five
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_(group)
Seven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_(1995_film)
Robbie Williams
https://www.robbiewilliams.com/
White Men Can’t Jump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Men_Can't_Jump
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
https://open.spotify.com/album/0JwHz5SSvpYWuuCNbtYZoV
Gatecrasher
https://www.gatecrasher.com/
Kylie Minogue
https://www.kylie.com/
Ally McBeal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_McBeal
Now and Then
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_and_Then_(film)
Diary, She Wrote was pr...
On 31st December 1998 I met a guy called Macey from the year above me at school. I go on to talk about Macey for 116 of the 365 days of 1999. If I heard he was going out, I would go out, I would sit at home imagining he would call my landline, despite him not having my phone number, I learnt his lesson plan and knew that when I walked along the school path between my Psychology and Art classes I would pass him. Every time I would prepare myself to look up, lock eye contact and smile, it’s a simple concept, it makes you look more attractive, but, every time I would fail.
Macey plays a big role in this story, but this is really all about a 17 year old who wants to be noticed, I wanted people to call me pretty, I wanted people to describe me as fun, I wanted people to recognise how hard I worked, I wanted to be rewarded with the role of house captain for my sporting achievements, I wanted to be patted on the back for organising a charity fashion show, and embarrassingly I wanted people to notice my family's wealth.
As I’m 17 I am lazy and use the word ‘cos’ instead of ‘because,’ my writing is quite chaotic and I am also very unaware of my white privilege. I was brought up in a white middle class area, a bubble of security. I’m ashamed to say I thought it was normal to live in a semi detached house, to have annual family holidays, to never have to think about where the next meal was coming from. When I went to university I began to understand that this was not the case, but it still took me a good 10 years to really start to unpick this. I’ve learnt from friends I’ve met along the way, I’ve learnt from reading, listening, following activists and I still have a lot to learn.
Follow Instagram for more extracts from my Diaries: https://www.instagram.com/diaryshewrote/
Key Characters:
Macey - My school crush
Beth - My best mate
Lily, Holly, Georgie, Ashley, Erica, Susie, Ben - Some of my oldest friends
Polly - A friend at school
Mum, Dad - Family
Annabelle - Macey’s school crush
Kev - Another school crush
Locations:
Wetherspoons Cheadle Hulme
https://www.greatukpubs.co.uk/kings-tap-cheadle-hulme?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local_seo_gmb&utm_content=website
Governors House
https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/cheshire/governors-house/
Zest, Wilmslow
Now closed down
Surrey Institute of Art & Design
https://www.uca.ac.uk/
Bar Med, Manchester
Now closed down
Pizza Express
https://www.pizzaexpress.com/
Renaissance
Now closed down
Cultural References:
Entertainment References:
Saving Private Ryan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_in_Love
There’s Something About Mary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_Something_About_Mary
Prince, 1999
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_(Prince_album)
S Club 7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Club_7
Five
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_(group)
Seven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_(1995_film)
Robbie Williams
https://www.robbiewilliams.com/
White Men Can’t Jump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Men_Can't_Jump
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
https://open.spotify.com/album/0JwHz5SSvpYWuuCNbtYZoV
Gatecrasher
https://www.gatecrasher.com/
Kylie Minogue
https://www.kylie.com/
Ally McBeal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_McBeal
Now and Then
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_and_Then_(film)
Diary, She Wrote was pr...
Previous Episode
Series 2, Ep. 10 - Another Blood Test
Having spent time dating Jack, which had been the closest thing to a relationship for me in 5 years. It had made me realise that when I do meet the right person, it’s likely I will want kids to be part of our future. There is endless research you can do when it comes to learning about the fertility of women at various stages of their life. But The British Fertility Society says that ‘At birth, most girls have about 2 million eggs, at adolescence that number has gone down to about 400,000 and at age 37 there remain about 25,000. As I was approaching 36 I made the decision to use my savings to freeze my eggs.
And by no means is freezing your eggs a guarantee of conception, but it does act as a little security blanket. For me, the entire process lasted about 4 months, my clinic closely monitored my menstrual cycles, there were endless blood tests and scans, they prescribed the relevant medication to first get my hormones to the optimum level and to then stimulate my egg growth. I had to inject my own medication and the closer it got to my egg removal date, the more I had to do, some days I’d have 2 blood tests and I’d do 3 injections at various points throughout the day. It was an upheaval on my body, both physically and mentally.
Reading back it was quite a tricky time to reflect on, I was suddenly acutely aware and envious of my friends developing family situations and I think this was one of the loneliest points of my 30’s and where my desire to meet someone was at its peak.
The episode is taken from a 5 month period from Sept 2017 - Feb 2018. You will hear me repeat the last day from Episode 1 - Dexter Turner as the stories cross over the same time period.
Follow Instagram for more extracts from my Diaries: https://www.instagram.com/diaryshewrote/
Key Characters:
Jack - An amazing man who I dated for 2 months
Beth - My best mate
Willow - One of my best mates who I met in my single years
Grace - One of my best mates who I met in my single years
Dawn, Tim - Some of my oldest friends
Simone, Faith, Heather, Chloe, Mel - London friends
Mum - Family
Todd - A guy I dated
Dexter Turner - A guy who briefly entered and quickly exited my life on a number of occasions and unjustifiably has become one of those people who is hard to shake off and annoyingly someone I’m quite fond of.
Locations:
Columbia Road Flower Market
http://www.columbiaroad.info/
Wilton’s Music Hall
https://www.wiltons.org.uk/
Crooked Billet
https://e5crookedbillet.co.uk/
Prince George
https://theprincegeorgepub.co.uk/
House of Hackney
https://www.houseofhackney.com/
Goodhood
https://goodhoodstore.com/
Cultural References:
Grenfell Tower
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40301289
International Women’s Day
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Entertainment References:
Notting Hill Carnival
https://www.thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com/
Happn
https://www.happn.com/en/
Les Enfants Terribles:
https://lesenfantsterribles.co.uk/
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Billboards_Outside_Ebbing,_Missouri
Medical References:
ARGC Egg Freezing Clinic:
https://argc.co.uk/
Chlamydia
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chlamydia/
STI
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/visiting-an-sti-clinic/
AMH:
https://www.createfertility.co.uk/fertility-diagnosis/amh
NHS:
https://www.nhs.uk/
IVF Treatment
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/availability/
Diary, She Wrote was produced by Liz Beardsell in partnership with Bird Lime Media with original music by Ethan Illingworth.
Next Episode
Series 2, Ep. 12 - The Hot Waiter
This story is about my 10 day solo holiday in Mexico in Oct 2016. It touches on loneliness, lust and communication.
Follow Instagram for more extracts from my Diaries: https://www.instagram.com/diaryshewrote/
Key Characters:
Antonio - The Hot Waiter
Locations:
Chichen Itza
https://www.chichenitza.com/
Casa Jaguar
https://www.casajaguartulum.com/
Casa Banana
https://www.instagram.com/casabananatulum/?hl=en
Posada Margherita
https://www.posadamargherita.com/
Entertainment References:
Bridget Jones Baby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Jones's_Baby
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
https://www.jkrowling.com/book/harry-potter-cursed-child/
Jamie XX, Gosh
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6hXkrOoS5XhXsp2XG5PNi9
Amelie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amélie
Tinder
https://tinder.com/?lang=en-GB
Jurassic Park
http://www.jurassicworld.com/films/jurassic-park
Diary, She Wrote was produced by Liz Beardsell in partnership with Bird Lime Media with original music by Ethan Illingworth
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